How are you feeling after Tuesday’s midterm elections?
I’ll go first: I feel hopeful. I feel grateful. And I feel even more determined to keep organizing to build the world we all want to live in.
Because no matter where we live or how much money we have, we all want clean air to breathe and safe water to drink. We want our neighbors to be safe, not surveilled and kidnapped. We want our tax dollars spent on health care, not warfare. And we want elected leaders who we can trust to represent our interests, not those of corporations and billionaires.
People across the U.S. may not agree on everything, but a whole lot of us agree on these things. And Tuesday’s results proved it. What we witnessed was a resounding rejection of corporate and billionaire power, and a powerful victory for people power.
That isn’t an analogy, and that isn’t a high-minded philosophical statement. Corporations and billionaires literally tried to buy these elections. The people didn’t let them.
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest creep, poured nearly half a billion dollars—that’s billion with a B—into the election around the country—with a special focus on the Senate race in Texas. Billionaire Rick Jackson spent more than 200 million dollars of his own money to try to buy his way into the Georgia governor’s mansion. In Iowa, voters rejected a gubernatorial candidate with deep ties to the Koch brothers’ network; in Ohio, a coal lobbyist in a House seat; in Pennsylvania, a congressman who’d blatantly profited from stock trading. And despite massive political spending by Silicon Valley corporations and billionaires, people in nine states voted resoundingly against data centers. The list goes on.
Over and over again, despite these attempts—and despite the systemic efforts to disenfranchise voters through gerrymandering, the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and more — voters overwhelmingly rejected corporate power and billionaire money.
They rejected corruption. They rejected the notion that behind every politician should stand a corporate executive or billionaire with a fat checkbook and a policy wishlist. And they rejected a regime laser-focused on helping its corporate backers make a buck while everyday life becomes increasingly unaffordable. Just look at the oil and gas corporations making record profits thanks in large part to the devastating war in Iran, while people across the country faced record-high Election Day gas prices.
And this isn’t unique to the United States. This is a global moment. From Serbia, to Brazil, and even to the U.N. climate talks happening in Türkiye next week, people are rising up and reclaiming power from authoritarians and their corporate backers.
And you know what’s extra sweet? Their usual strategies to divide us—based on where we’re from, what we look like, how we worship, and who we love — failed. People came together in a night of historic firsts to affirm the power and promise of a multiracial democracy, where every person matters, no exceptions. That gives me so much hope.
And here’s what makes me even more determined to keep organizing: These elections showed us that we have a fighting chance to turn the tide on corporate power and its stranglehold on our democracy. Emphasis on fighting.
Because corporations and billionaires don’t like to lose. And they’ll be scheming to expand their power before the new Congress is even sworn in. They’ll be finding new ways to mine our data and sell it to the highest bidder, to shove data centers down our throats, to extract resources and destroy the planet and call it “green.” And, crucially, they’ll be scheming to pit us against each other based on race, or class, or gender identity, hoping we won’t notice as they steal our natural resources, our tax dollars, and the planet we call home out from under our noses.
But the will of the people is clear. And so is our assignment.
In the coming weeks and months, as a movement:
- We must ensure that every vote is counted and secure a peaceful transition of power. Some races are still too close to call. We must make sure every vote counts. Stay tuned to mobilize.
- We must hold the line against the desperate flailings of a lame-duck Congress and administration. We know corporations, billionaires, and the politicians in their pockets will throw everything they’ve got into protecting their power and profits over the next few weeks. We’ll make sure you’re among the first to know about any threats, and what you can do to stop them.
- We’ll keep advancing our strategic, long-term campaigns. Whether that’s supporting allies on the ground at the U.N. climate talks, gearing up to stop water privatizers in the year ahead, or advancing our campaign to challenge Big Tech’s abuses, across our campaigns, we’ll keep using every lever of change available to us. Because our power doesn’t begin or end at the ballot box.
What we witnessed this week is both a culmination and the start of something big. The people can win against the forces of corporate power. When we come together. When we organize.
As a newly minted U.S. citizen of Latin American origin, I carry with me the words deep in my heart: el pueblo unido jamás será vencido.
Corporate power is not inevitable. When we fight, we win.
I hope you feel that sense of hope, possibility, and determination right now too. We have so much more to fight for, and so much more we can win.
Let’s keep organizing, shoulder to shoulder.
